In what would have been Marilyn Monroe's last film role, the buxom, platinum-haired icon frolicked in and around a swimming pool for the unfinished Something's Got to Give in 1962, a remake of the screwball comedy My Favorite Wife from 1940.

Monroe died before she finished making the movie, but excerpts and snapshots of her now-legendary nude bathing scene have only fueled her posthumous celebrity. Almost 50 years after her death, Duncan Miller Gallery is now exhibiting a dozen rare photos of Monroe from the set of Something's Got to Give.

We have seven of them for you -- #7 is above. Here are six more.

Copyright Lawrence Schiller

6. Come on in, the water's fine

Marilyn Monroe was supposed to wear a body stocking for the pool scene in Something's Got to Give, but she took it off and swam around only in a flesh-colored bikini bottom.

Copyright Lawrence Schiller

5. Feelin' cheeky

Monroe eventually took off her flesh-colored bikini bottom and swam around naked. The film would have been the first time a major movie star appeared completely nude onscreen since Hedy Lamarr's appearance in Ecstasy in 1933.

Copyright Lawrence Schiller

4. Cast and crew only?

Something's Got to Give was supposed to be a closed set, but Monroe personally invited photographers to snap up pictures of her. Thank God she did.

Copyright Lawrence Schiller

3. On the edge

Producer Henry Weinstein and director George Cukor fired Monroe after a series of absences, rehiring her only after her co-star Dean Martin refused to work with anyone else.

Copyright Lawrence Schiller

2. Happy birthday suit

While filming Something's Got to Give, Fox studios permitted Monroe to travel to New York to serenade President John F. Kennedy at his birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden.

Copyright Lawrence Schiller

1. Something's got to give

While the film never made it to theaters, stills and photographs from the shoot have been exhibited the world over, though only the best images have survived -- Monroe reportedly destroyed negatives of pictures she didn't like. The star celebrated her 36th birthday on the set of her last film, dying just two months later on August 5, 1962. See a clip from the filming, below.

See also:

If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.